Yahoo is laying off 2,000 employees, just three months after Scott Thompson became CEO. Thompson is facing a proxy fight from a hedge fund for control of the company. Photo: Reuters/PayPal

Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is under fire after an activist hedge fund found that he had embellished his resume regarding details on his academic credentials, prompting the board of directors of Yahoo Inc. to launch a probe into records about their chief executive office.

According to Reuters, New York-based hedge fund Third Point accused Thompson of padding his education records on Thursday. Third Point founder and manager Daniel Loeb wrote a letter to the board of directors at Yahoo informing them of Thompson's false resume.

Loeb said that Thompson, who claims he has a bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College, actually does not have a degree in computer science. According to Loeb, Thompson embellished his academic credentials to include computer science when his only degree is in accounting.

Stonehill College informed us that it did not begin awarding computer science degrees until 1983 - four years after Mr. Thompson graduated, Loeb said.

The board of directors will launch a probe into the educational records of Thompson and disclose the review to shareholders after the review, Reuters reported.

However, a Yahoo spokesperson said the report about Thompson's embellished resume wasn't a lie but rather an inadvertent error.

Scott Thompson received a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a major in accounting from Stonehill college, the spokesperson told Reuters. There was an inadvertent error that stated Mr. Thompson also holds a degree in computer science, he added.

The spokesperson continued on further to defend Scott Thompson, calling him a highly qualified executive with a successful track record leading large consumer technology companies.

Loeb also claimed that Patti Hart, a Yahoo board member and the chair of the committee who hired Thompson in January, had also falsified her resume. Hart, according to Loeb, has a degree in business administration from Illinois State University, though her corporate filings list her degree as marketing and economics.

But a Yahoo spokesman said Hart does indeed have a degree in business administration, with specialization.

We can confirm that Patti Hart holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration with specialties in marketing and economics from Illinois State University, the spokesperson told Reuters.

The move from Daniel Loeb comes as the latest development in Third Party's battle to gain more seats on the board of directors at Yahoo Inc., as the hedge fund owns 5.81 percent of shares. Since Scott Thompson replaced Carol Bartz in January, Third Party has had loads of criticism for Yahoo, who laid off 2,000 employees in April.